Bleach: Different Beginnings
by Yuyake Kaminari
Summary: What would've happened if Kurosaki Ichigo awakened his powers in his first encounter with a hollow… Without taking Rukia's? Will anything be the same, or will the world of bleach change as we know it? Read as Ichigo encounters new adventures. Fist Bleach Fanfiction, I just started reading Bleach, so don't get mad if I mess up their names, please. R
1. Chapter 1

_**Summary: What would've happened if Kurosaki Ichigo awakened his powers in his first encounter with a hollow…. without taking Rukia's? Will anything be the same, or will the world of bleach change as we know it?**_

**AN: Ok, so I noted that I might have made some of the characters like Ichigo and Rukia a bit O.C. I didn't mean for this, but I guess that's just how my mind wrote it. Anyways, I'm starting at the point where Ichigo runs in front of his first hollow. Plus, I only just started reading **_**Bleach **_**a few days ago, so if I'm a bit confusing, anyway, onto the story.**

"Hey! If you want me, come and get me!" Ichigo yelled, running out in front of the hollow who had attacked his family.

"Kurosaki, that won't solve anything!" Rukia yelled out, running to jump between the two. She stopped as a strong wave of spiritual power pushed her backwards, kicking up dust and causing her to close her eyes. When she opened them, she was expecting the worst, not to see Ichigo carrying a large blade, cutting at the hollow.

"How do you kill this thing?" Ichigo yelled, slicing off the beast's arm. Rukia stood there, stunned, not expecting this. "Earth to Shinigami! How the hell do you kill this thing?" Ichigo asked, causing Rukia to be interrupted from her thoughts.

"Slice its head! And my name is Rukia, not shinigami!" Rukia yelled, watching as the orange-haired man dodged an attack by jumping above it, and brought his sword straight down through the beast's head, causing it to instantly disintegrate. She watched helplessly as this man, no, shinigami, collapsed on the ground, exhausted from overuse of his spiritual power.

"Ichigo!" she yelled, running over to the now unconscious teen, seeing his human body sprawled out. _'Hmm, interesting. He escaped his human body without any assistance. If I thought I had to report this earlier, I definitely have to bring him in for the report,' _Rukia thought, dragging Ichigo's human form into his house, putting each person that lay unconscious in their respective beds, leaving Ichigo's soul form out, in preparations for a trip to Soul Society. _'I bet he's the cause for the recent hollow activity in this town. He's the only one I sense with a high Spirit Power,_' Rukia thought silently, opening the door to Soul Society, dragging Ichigo with her. She pulled out her pager, and called Ukitake-taichou, explaining the current situation.

"Alright, fine, bring him in. but only because he appears to have become a shinigami by some feat. Did you say his name was Kurosaki?" Ukitake asked, genuinely interested.

"Yeah, I think his dad's name is like Kurosaki Isshin or something like that. What does this have to do with him?" Rukia asked.

"Interesting, very interesting. It seems the database on all shinigami, past and present, have an Isshin Kurosaki registered, and his strength was registered at just above a captain's," Ukitake said. Rukia proceeded to head through the door.

"Halt, why have you brought an unknown man?" a guard asked, seeing Ichigo being dragged behind her.

"I have brought him in under direct orders of Captain Ukitake of the 13th division," Rukia said, keeping a stone cold face.

"Very well, Ukitake-taichou is currently at the barracks of the 13th division in his office," the guard said, watching as Rukia flash-stepped away. She reappeared in front of the barracks, stopped by Captain Ukitake.

"Hmm, so this is the Kurosaki boy. It seems he has already achieved his initial release for his Zanpakuto," Ukitake noted, the large cleaver like sword on his back clearly visible.

"Yes, Ukitake-taichou. He defeated a hollow that was targeting him as soon as he entered shinigami form," Rukia said, remembering the moment when he looked as though he was going to suicide for a hollow.

"Ahh, I can sense his spiritual power, even though it is nearly drained, he still seems to have such large stores. Take him inside and settle him on the empty bunk near yours, we shall talk to Captain Yamamoto in the morning," Ukitake stated, turning to head back inside, but was interrupted.

"He broke through a Kidou binding, before he gained his powers, Ukitake-taichou," Rukia said, causing Ukitake to turn back around.

"Hmm, he must be a powerful individual to be able to do that," Ukitake said, before walking away, deep in thought.

_The Next Morning, Captains Meeting_

"So, has the captains decided what they shall do with Mr. Kurosaki?" Yamamoto asked, causing the group of captains that were in deep thought to turn.

"I say we make him fight me, to prove his worth!" Kenpachi exclaimed, smiling arrogantly.

"I say we have him tested to enter the Gotei 13, and decide where he should be placed afterwards," Ichimaru stated, receiving several nods of agreement from the Captains.

"I say skip the testing, he already proved his worth by defeating a hollow the moment he gained his powers, that's proof enough to enter the Gotei 13, however, I also agree he should be tested, not to enter the Gotei 13, but to see where his skills lie," Toshiro announced, receiving a nod from everybody but Kenpachi.

"Alright, we will go with Captain Hitsugaya's idea, for it seems the best defended and most agreed upon," Yamamoto stated. "Bring in the kid," he ordered 2 guards who immediately went to the hall and dragged in a very fidgety Ichigo. "Kurosaki Ichigo, you have been brought before the heads of the Gotei 13 for a very important reason, and that is to see where you will be placed in out of these 13 divisions." Ichigo bowed in fear, but found some courage to talk.

"May I ask a question, Yamamoto-sama?" Ichigo asked, receiving a nod from said captain, "Why am I here? Not in a disrespectful way, of course, I'm honored to meet such powerful people. But why? I was living a normal life until I was attacked by the hollow," Ichigo said, nervous because he was afraid he'd stepped on toes, but hadn't.

"I see, well, if it was just the attack, then your memories of last night would've been wiped, and you would still be home, however, when attacked, you came out with shinigami powers and a victory that would take a seasoned shinigami do. You, Ichigo, are a special human, for, you withheld your powers for so long," Yamamoto said. Ichigo bowed in respect to the compliment given by the strongest man in Soul Society, "and, you have been brought here to be trained, so you may return to your human body at some point in the future and protect those souls of your town. You will become a shinigami, and I've already sent for your body, this way your family think you not dead, but simply missing." Yamamoto approached the orange-haired boy, causing Ichigo to flinch, thinking he did something wrong, however, was surprised when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "My boy, get ready, for you are going to be tested out by the most fearsome captain of the Gotei 13, Captain Kenpachi," Yamamoto told him, as he turned around to see a humongous man with an eye patch smiling evilly, cracking his knuckles.

"He he, draw your weapon, boy, for today, shall be your last," Kenpachi said, laughing when he saw the boy faint. The captains turned, all glaring at him. "What, I didn't mean to make him faint; I only wanted him to fear me." Toshiro stepped forward, offering to help Ichigo up, which was gratefully accepted by Yamamoto, who at the time was keeping Ichigo from falling.

"Captain Hitsugaya, could you please take Ichigo-san to your barracks, for I sense that is where he will be placed after his testing is over," Yamamoto ordered Toshiro, who carried Ichigo in the direction of his division.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: So, by now, I will have posted a poll on my profile concerning a certain raven-haired girl in this story. It will be for whether or not Rukia should attend school with Ichigo or stay at his house in spirit form, unfortunately, I cannot release any more details of the story, so please read on, and thank you everybody who reviewed, and those silent readers if I have any. Note, I may end up reposting this story on a new account if I cannot remember my password by the time FF logs me out, so R&R please.**

"Welcome to 10th division's barracks. You'll stay here until you're tested for division placement, understood?" Toshiro asked, receiving a nod from the orange-haired boy.

"Umm, may I ask you a question privately, Captain Hisugaya?" Ichigo asked, figuring now was the best of time to do so. Toshiro just nodded, walking into his office, gesturing for Ichigo to enter.

"Now, what is it you would like to ask me?" Toshiro asked, his serious face staring straight at Ichigo. Ichigo just sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't know how to say this, but did you notice that Captain Aizen and Captain Ichimaru seemed upset that I gained powers," Ichigo said, confusing the young captain.

"What do you mean?" Toshiro asked, worried he'd miss something.

"I don't know, it just seemed like their spirit power seemed to have an emotion, which ended as upset. I guess I was imagining," Ichigo said, drooping his shoulders and looking down in shame.

"I thought I sensed it too, but I couldn't get a great read on their spiritual power. I will look into it. Now, go to the division's training grounds and speak to your Zanpakuto, learn it's name, become friends with it," Toshiro said, walking him out of the office.

"Arigato, Captain Hitsugaya," Ichigo bowed in respect before turning towards the training grounds. _'I think I'm going to have to deal with being polite, or' _Ichigo shivered as he remember what had happened when he woke up in 13th division.

_-Flashback-_

"Oi! Where the hell am I!" Ichigo asked to no one in particular. He was smacked on the back of the head by Rukia, who was sitting on the bed next to him.

"Hey, carrot top, shut up! People are trying to sleep!" Rukia told Ichigo in a loud whisper. Ichigo, not wanting to be slapped again, shut up. Rukia smiled at her apparent victory against the orange haired male.

"Where am I?" Ichigo asked, his face knit into a scowl. That received a slap from Rukia. "Oi, what the hell was that for?"

"You need to loosen up, that's what that was for, now shut up so I can explain, and I need you to listen to every word I say and memorize them, or I'll slap you for 10 days straight," Rukia threatened, watching as Ichigo imagined that, which caused him to self-consciously flinch. "Good, now listen up….."

_-Flashback End-_

_Meanwhile, back in Kurakaru town._

"Has anybody seen Kurosaki-kun today?" a very worried Orihime asked, turning to everybody in the class.

"Orihime, just relax, Ichigo's probably just late today," Tatsuki said, in hopes of calming her best friend down, only to no success.

"No! Ichigo's never late!" Orihime exclaimed, drawing the attention of several classmates.

"Class, take your seats. Kurosaki-san has been excused for two weeks for a trip to visit colleges in Tokyo," Ochi-sensei told them, getting the class to sit and quiet down. _'Interesting, Ichigo shouldn't have to worry about college this far from being a senior. Oh well, if I voice my opinion, then Orihime will get upset again,' _Tatsuki thought silently. Across the room, a kid with glasses was having similar thoughts, but decided that it was probably true.

_With Isshin_

'_Soul Society, what are you up to, and what does my son have to do with all of this?' _the bearded man thought, reading the note over and over again. _'And what happened last night, I don't think it was a truck that crashed into the house, it couldn't have been, or else the driver would've been here, and why does my back hurt?' _Isshin questioned himself over and over, deciding what would be the best course of action to go about. He sat down at his desk, holding his head in his hands as he thought.

_With Ichigo_

"Getsuga!" Ichigo yelled, nearly out of breath as he swung his sword at a training dummy, focusing his power into the slash, causing a bright blue wave to crash and destroy the dummy, sending broken bits flying everywhere. Ichigo collapsed to his knees, panting heavily. Somebody clapped behind him, causing him to turn to see Toshiro walking up behind him.

"Congratulations, I see you have mastered a move of your Shikai Zanpakuto already, and it seems powerful," Toshiro said, amazed at the kid's progress. _'He'll become a great value to this squad, I need him in my division' _Toshiro thought, smiling. "Have you learned your Zanpakuto's name yet?" Toshiro received a silent nod as Ichigo tried to catch his breath.

"His… name's…. Zangetsu," Ichigo said as he tried to regulate his breathing. He was still breathing quite heavily, but was able to stand up and bow respectively.

"Ah, that is good to hear. I've come here to inform you that the test for abilities shall be scheduled for tomorrow, and that you should rest for the remainder of today," Toshiro explained. Ichigo nodded, fully understanding.

"May I speak with Captain Ukitake, sir? I must ask him a very important question," Ichigo asked, trying his best to be polite, or face the wrath of Rukia. Toshiro nodded, receiving another bow from the orange porcupine. "Arigato, Captain Hitsugaya." Ichigo walked off, dragging his sword behind him, barely able to drag it. _'He's probably one of the best shinigami for his age that I've ever seen. At this rate, he could surpass even Yamamoto-sama,' _the silver-haired boy thought silently.

_10 minutes later, 13__th__ division barracks_

"Hey! Ichigo!" Rukia yelled, seeing the teenager walk into the 13th division barracks. Ichigo immediately tensed up when he heard the voice. _'Oh no, she's come to kill me, but I didn't even do anything!' _Ichigo thought, mentally whimpering as he did so. "What are you doing here? I thought you were staying in 10th division?"

"I am, I just needed to ask Captain Ukitake a question about my father," Ichigo told her, causing the petite girl to sweat drop.

"Umm, why do you need to ask about your father?" Rukia asked nervously, trying to play dumb. Ichigo just sighed.

"Don't you remember last night when you were dragging my body here? I wasn't completely unconscious, you know," Ichigo said, laughing when he saw the look on Rukia's face as she realized that she was found out. "Don't worry, I'm only curious, shorty," Ichigo said, playfully. This caused him to get a punch to the jaw, but not hard.

"What do you mean short? I'm just fun-sized, carrot-top," Rukia told him, teasing back. Ichigo playfully punched Rukia's arm. They were completely oblivious to Ukitake, who had arrived in time to see the display.

"Now now, you two lovebirds, I believe that Mr. Carrot-top had a private question for me, so I would like for you to leave the room, shorty," Ukitake said, knowing it would get a rouse out of both shinigami.

"Yes, sorry about that Captain Ukitake," they both said, holding back their displeasure for the nicknames given to them. Rukia left, closing the door behind her lightly, while Ichigo bowed respectively.

"Now, what would you like to ask me, Carrot-san?" Ukitake asked, still teasing the teenager.

"I would like to know about my dad, Isshin Kurosaki, Captain Ukitake," Ichigo said, politely, just in case Rukia heard any of this.

"Of course, I can give you your dad's file if you would like," Ukitake said, receiving a vigorous nod from the young boy. Captain Ukitake handed over the file, received another bow, and watched as the boy left.

"Hey wha- oh, it's just you, carrot-top," Rukia said, as Ichigo bumped into her. Ichigo offered his hand to help her up, jumping when he felt her hand touch his.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there Rukia, you ok?" Ichigo asked, pulling the small girl up to her feet.

"Yea- hey, was that a short joke?" Rukia asked, making a sudden realization. Ichigo waved his hands in the air.

"I swear, I did not mean it as a short joke, I only meant that I wasn't looking whe-" SMACK! Rukia pulled her hand back after slapping Ichigo hard across the face.

"Liar," she grumbled, walking off towards her bed.

"Oi, shorty, bet I can outrun you!" Ichigo yelled, running away from the now angry Rukia Kuchiki. He laughed as he thought he easily outran her, until he ran into something short and soft. "Oh sh-" he never finished the sentence, as the next 30 minutes resulted in the beat down of his life. Ichigo learned a very valuable lesson today: never, ever, piss off Rukia Kuchiki, for she will beat you to an inch of your life, and leave you there to think about it, giving no help. He lay in a bruised mess in the middle of the street, watching as she walked away, satisfied that Ichigo learned his lesson. "You know, she's kinda cut- oh shit, did I just think that, oh man oh man, I really hope she can't hear what I'm thinking,"Ichigo said aloud, thinking he only said it in his head, mentally slapping himself for what went through his head. He suddenly froze, not moving, watching as Rukia turned around.

"You know, it's really not thinking if you say it out loud, carrot-top, and thank you," Rukia said, resuming her walk away, turning so that Ichigo didn't see the blush that was taking over her cheeks. Ichigo lay there, frozen in shock at what he did. _'oh sit, I'm dead, I'm freaking dead. I bet she's already planning on how to kill me and dispose of the bo- oh, wait, I'm a soul, never mind. She doesn't have to worry about the body. Oh, man! Now I'm going to die quicker!' _Ichigo thought silently, not realizing he was being dragged until he was brought through the door to the 10th division.

"Ichigo-san, what happened to you?" Toshiro asked, wondering how in hell he got beat up so bad.

"Umm, you see, I learned a very valuable lesson today: never call Rukia Kuchiki shorty, midget, or any other short referrance," Ichigo said, scowling as the captain laughed.

"Wait, you got beaten up by Rukia for calling her short? Are you an idiot?" Toshiro asked, barely containing his laughter to do so.

"I was just teasing her! Besides, she called me carrot-top!" Ichigo responded quite defensively.

"Ok, just get some sleep and be up early tomorrow," Toshiro said, regaining his serious attitude.

"Yes, sir," Ichigo said, climbing into his bed. He quickly fell asleep, feeling no pain as he did so.


End file.
